Omega Diner & Cafe — Restaurant in North Brunswick Township

Stopped into this diner after trying a few other places in the area on Sunday morning but being turned away because of hour long waiting times. We called ahead to confirm we were a party of 15 people, and the staff was still caught off guard by the reservation when we arrived 35 minutes later. There were already other guests waiting to be seated and none of the hostesses could clearly express where to wait so there was a lot of bumping and "sorry - excuse me's" exchanged.

Once seated, the waitress took our order, she seemed like she didn't want to be there but pushed through. After we received our food I was shocked at the presentation. I've been to many small town diners and at the very least they give you a mediocre presentation. I ordered bacon, home fries, and two eggs sunny side up and was surprised to see that they only served 4 short pieces of bacon that were all curled up on top of the egg poking the yolk. The point of sunny side up is to enjoy it as soon the eater pops it, not to receive it already cooling. My husband had the same order but asked to replace the homefries with corned beef hash but they said that "substitution" couldn't be made (this is a table of 15 hungry people and you can't make one simple switch?!). He decided to make the full order of two eggs, bacon, home fries, and corned beef hash as a separate order but they served it cold and almost raw. The pink of the meat was completely exposed! Now to the point of the waitress not being able to make substitutions she still served my husband two eggs and hash browns only and said she would be back with the bacon. That doesn't add up, but okay. My brother in law ordered steak and eggs, and it wasn''t noted how large the steak was, when he asked the waitress ran away while saying she would find out - not even a smile and let me check for you. She came back a few minutes later and said it was a 12 oz. He ordered it, but when it arrived it was just cooked meat, no seasoning at all, not even a dash of salt and pepper. He ended up seasoning it himself with A1 and table s+p. My nephew ordered silver dollar pancakes and they served them with the batter drips! I couldn't believe that they didn't even work on the smallest presentation skills of a diner. The food was okay, I too seasoned mine because my potatoes weren't seasoned and barely cooked to taste but I digress.

For a quick bite with zero expectations, this place is okay but other than that don't get...

I wish I could rate this place 3.5 stars, because they're really right in-between, bouncing back and forth over the past 5 years of my occasional patronage. I'll err on the side of kindness and go 4 because I've mostly felt happy about ordering here.

The biggest pro I can give is the food quality, while average overall, is consistent and tasty. It's always the flavor I'm looking for, and because of their previous 24 hr operation and current 5 am - 10 pm during COVID (max allowed as of writing), the sheer availability and options on hand really makes it stand out amongst other diners. Their entree meats in particular are also usually quite good. Something like a London Broil even is consistently flavorful here, and simple chicken options like chicken tenders or chicken quesadillas taste better here than at some places which specialize in the items.

For those looking for healthier fare, this has become a preferred place of mine for salads. The arugula salad with goat cheese is huge and delicious (and pairs well with their great house balsamic), and they also have some unique Mediterranean style salad options which are equally great/well-portioned.

As for the negatives...as mentioned elsewhere, they're not especially attentive as a wait staff and haven't been for most of my visits. Since this is a review made over time, I'll chalk it up to a persistently lax attitude towards timely service from the establishment itself (a no-no for many customers but not a huge deal for me usually, outside of needing an occasional drink refill). This service issue is also mitigated when going in for pickup, as the kitchen itself is usually quite prompt.

There are also a number of menu items which feel rather phoned in, particularly the omelettes and other breakfast options (which are superior at the Franklin Park IHOP, of all places). Still, with a menu so expansive, it's not a huge surprise to have a few pitfalls.

At the end of the day though, when I'm needing a classic NJ style diner to go to, it's either this place or Edison further up 1, as neither ever really lets me down (and I definitely have been let down by diners on NJ). Cost/quality/reliability ratios all outweigh the timeliness for me, and I'm glad that they're standing strong in the face of this economic nightmare. ...

We've been passing this place for over 20 years on our trip to New York and never had a chance to stop by... WE MISSED A LOT! We specifically decided on dining at the Omega Diner tonight and the good thing we did! We met there at 7 pm for a family dinner with our son who moved to New York. Kind of a half way between or PA home and his place in NY. The place wasn't very busy. We were sitted right away. The waiter was with us in less than a minute, and in another few minutes we were served our water, seltzer and hot tea. The waiter took our order, advising on what is good and what he would recommend. Great guy! Very friendly, very patient, very customer oriented. My wife got her cream of turkey soup in another few minutes. At that point I added the matzoh ball soup for myself. It was served right away. It looked so good that my son took it from me! I ordered another portion of it and asked to get me an additional bowl to split it. Well, in a few minutes it was served with extra bowl full of additiina steaming broth. This soup tasted very-very good. And the size of that matzoh ball!!! It was of the size of a baseball ⚾️ !!! Yes, and my wife's cream of turkey soup - delicious!!! We did not even want to eat anything else after that but... we already ordered our main meals... Well, everything was served fast and tasted great. My Omega club sandwich (recommended by the waiter) - delicious, Omega appetizers - perfect, deluxe cheeseburger - very nice, baked mix seafood for my wife - tasty and nicely presented, looking very appealing. Obviously, at least half of all this went home with us... We needed room for the sweets. Cappuccino, chocolate chip cookie, chocolate cheesecake - all was great, presentable and delicious! And all this for under $90 (plus tip of course) for the party of four! In today's world this is a pretty good deal! Especially, with such a great service, clean and nicely designed and maintained place and nice portions sizes! We will definitely come back to this place again. They have so many interesting and appealing items on their menu that we want to try...

DEFINITELY RECOMMEND...